Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 814 · 40 questions

Engineer's tip (Low, wide, flexible): Safer: wide base, flexible joints, bracing, steel in concrete, light roof, rubber pads, simple shape. Less safe: heavy tops, narrow bases, loose bricks, no steel, brittle joints. Tipping: compare height ÷ base width — the smaller it is, the steadier the block.

1. 1.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is colourful (b) it is taller (c) it is lighter (d) it is harder to tip over
2. 2.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a telescope (b) a microscope (c) a shake table (d) a fridge
3. 3.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 150 cm tall on a 30 cm wide base, tower B is 210 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 60 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
4. 4.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using a light roof (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) using flexible joints (d) raising heavy tanks high
5. 5.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) having a wide base (c) using a heavy roof (d) stacking loose bricks
6. 6.True or false: raising heavy tanks high makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
7. 7.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 40 cm tall on a 10 cm wide base, tower B is 120 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 140 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
8. 8.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using a light roof (b) having a wide base (c) building tall and narrow (d) keeping a simple shape
9. 9.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they stop shaking (b) they bend, not break (c) they look nice (d) they are cheap
10. 10.🏚️ Where should heavy water tanks go in a quake zone? (a) low down (b) on the very top (c) hanging outside (d) on a thin pole
11. 11.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 180 cm tall on a 30 cm wide base, tower B is 50 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 60 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
12. 12.🏚️ Does adding cross bracing make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
13. 13.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) having a wide base (c) building tall and narrow (d) leaving out steel bars
14. 14.True or false: building tall and narrow makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
15. 15.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 100 cm tall on a 20 cm wide base, tower B is 10 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 120 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
16. 16.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) building tall and narrow (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) making brittle joints (d) keeping a simple shape
17. 17.🏚️ Does raising heavy tanks high make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
18. 18.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 20 cm tall on a 10 cm wide base, tower B is 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 30 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
19. 19.True or false: having a wide base makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
20. 20.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a light roof (b) using flexible joints (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) fitting rubber base pads
21. 21.🏚️ Does using a heavy roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
22. 22.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 200 cm tall on a 40 cm wide base, tower B is 80 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 70 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
23. 23.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) having a wide base (b) using a light roof (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) making brittle joints
24. 24.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) building tall and narrow (b) making brittle joints (c) using a heavy roof (d) keeping a simple shape
25. 25.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) adding cross bracing (c) using a light roof (d) having a wide base
26. 26.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 60 cm tall on a 30 cm wide base, tower B is 90 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 30 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
27. 27.🏚️ Does adding steel to concrete make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
28. 28.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) using flexible joints (c) stacking loose bricks (d) adding cross bracing
29. 29.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a light roof (b) having a wide base (c) building tall and narrow (d) keeping a simple shape
30. 30.🏚️ Does using a light roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
31. 31.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using flexible joints (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) leaving out steel bars (d) having a wide base
32. 32.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using flexible joints (b) using a heavy roof (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) leaving out steel bars
33. 33.🏚️ Does building tall and narrow make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
34. 34.True or false: leaving out steel bars makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
35. 35.True or false: fitting rubber base pads makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
36. 36.True or false: fitting rubber base pads makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
37. 37.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) using flexible joints (c) adding steel to concrete (d) using a light roof
38. 38.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 80 cm tall on a 20 cm wide base, tower B is 160 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 240 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
39. 39.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
40. 40.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) using a heavy roof (c) stacking loose bricks (d) adding cross bracing

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